


Luka and XY's Excellent Adventure

by bugaboo_n_bananoir, Taliax



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bob Roth has no rights, Camping, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pining, Road Trips, Shirtless, is it mutual? XY sure doesnt know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24792124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugaboo_n_bananoir/pseuds/bugaboo_n_bananoir, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taliax/pseuds/Taliax
Summary: XY didn't ask to be kidnapped and taken out to the middle of nowhere, but maybe this camping trip is exactly what he needs.  Either way, Luka's laughing and XY has donuts, so it's going to be a very cash money time.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine & XY (Miraculous Ladybug), Luka Couffaine/XY (Miraculous Ladybug)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 25





	1. Driving and Donuts

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah I’m here with another Luxy fic what about it
> 
> This one's a collab w Maddy! She did the art and the transcendental vibews: https://bugaboo-n-bananoir.tumblr.com/post/620777895128875008/when-mr-brightside-comes-on-mid-roadtrip-you-have  
> (it's embedded at the end of the fic for minor spoilers purposes but go give it a reblog bc it deserves it)
> 
> they're 20/21 in this fic by the way

XY squinted at his reflection in the car visor mirror. Luka had kidnapped him before he’d gotten to gel his hair this morning, and it hung limp around his shoulders. Not cash money at all. The first time he’d gotten together with Luka in months, and XY couldn’t even sweep him off his feet with a sexy quiff. At least no one else would recognize him without his signature look, though.

“So where are we going?” XY asked while tying off his hair at the nape of his neck.

“I thought you didn’t care,” Luka said, glancing at XY out of the corner of his eye before looking back at the road. His fingers tapped a skittering beat on the steering wheel. It didn’t match the 4/4 rhythm of the rock song playing faintly on the radio.

“That was before you took us out of Paris.” XY fidgeted as the tall buildings shrunk behind him. Sure, he’d wanted to get out of the city—but on a plane to a _different_ city. 

...Except Dad’s video probably got to all the cities nearby by now. Maybe even back to the States. 

Luka glanced at him again. He did that a lot, for a guy who was supposed to be driving. “I figured Paris would be the last place you wanted to be now.”

He wasn’t wrong. Wherever Luka was kidnapping him to, it couldn’t be worse than what he’d left behind.

“I think you just wanted an excuse to hang out.” XY laced his fingers behind his head. He had to keep up what was left of his image, even if he didn’t feel very relaxed. His foot tapped beneath the glovebox to let out his nervous energy where Luka wouldn’t see.

“If I just wanted to hang out, we would’ve gone back to my apartment. This,” he paused for dramatic effect, “is a surprise.”

“I’ve had enough surprises,” XY muttered under his breath, but he wasn’t really upset. Luka was his friend. Sure, the dude hated him at first, but XY’s amazing spectacularness had finally won him over. It was bound to happen after they’d worked together on and off for years as Kitty Section’s popularity grew.

Luka’s band was probably more popular than XY by now. That left a bitter taste in his mouth, like broccoli. It was hard to be jealous though when it was Luka who saved XY from the fallout of Dad branding him a “pagerizer” in front of the whole world.

“You’re quiet today,” Luka said awkwardly. His fingers were still tapping, probably missing the guitar strings under them. That guitar was in the back seat, strapped in with a seatbelt next to their bags.

Overnight bags. Wherever they were going, they would at least be there a while. That was good enough for XY.

He shrugged. “You never told me where we were going. What else do you want me too ask?”

“I don’t know. You just usually never shut up. It’s weird.”

XY smirked. “Admit it. You missed the melodic sound of my voice.”

Luka rolled his eyes. “You wish. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. What happened with your dad… it’s pretty messed up.”

The smirk vanished, replaced by the gurgling feeling in his gut that now came whenever he thought about Dad. Or whenever he ate too much mac ‘n cheese, but that was less relevant.

“It’s no big deal. Dad screws over everyone. It’s about time it happened to me.” He felt stupid for believing Dad wouldn’t sell him out, but what was he supposed to do? Cry about it? 

...Okay, so he did cry about it. For hours. Too bad he’d forgotten to pack his cool shades in his rush to get out of the hotel, or he would’ve covered up the last of the evidence. His eyes still looked a little pink in the visor mirror.

“Dude.” Luka leveled a stare at him while braking for a stoplight. “He told everyone on live television that your songs were all rip offs. I’d call that a big deal.”

“Look, I know!” XY’s hand tightened around his ponytail, before he began braiding it. Weaving the strands helped calm him a little. “Just—I don’t want to think about it, okay? So if you’re just here to—I don’t know, play therapist or something, let me out. You were always better at playing your stupid guitar than talking.”

Luka punched the gas too hard, slamming XY’s head back into the headrest. Guilt hurt worse than the lump forming there, though. Luka was just trying to help. He was the _only_ one trying to help. And XY—he just kept being an idiot.

His _actual_ therapist, Mr. Ramier, would tell him not to think like that. That he had value as a person, no matter how many times he screwed up. That it was never too late to fix things. It was Mr. Ramier and Luka who gave XY the courage to stand up to his dad and try to change the way he made his music.

He should’ve known that would be a mistake.

In a way, it was _their_ fault for getting him into this mess, with all their goody-two-shoes ideas and hippie crap. Stealing music had never gotten him into this much trouble. If he’d just done what Dad said…

Then he’d still feel awful. And he’d hate all his music, on top of that. At least the last album he’d secretly made before Dad sold him out had come from XY’s heart.

They rode in awkward silence, but XY didn’t know how to apologize. His tongue felt thick in his mouth, like he’d eaten shrimp and had an allergic reaction. Maybe he was allergic to apologizing?

“I’m sorry,” Luka said, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to push. I guess we’re… not as close as I thought we were, anymore.”

“Lu—no, it’s not like that.” XY rubbed his eyes. Why were they trying to water again? He was probably just tired, that was all. “Look, I’m really bad at this, but… I’m sorry, okay? It wasn’t very cash money of me to snap at you. But I still want… I mean, we _are_ still close, right? I wouldn’t let just _anyone_ kidnap me.”

Luka’s brow furrowed. “I’m pretty sure it’s not kidnapping if you threw yourself into my car.”

XY waved a hand. “Tomato, potato.”

“That’s not—nevermind.” Luka laughed under his breath. “Thanks, XY. And if you ever _do_ want to talk about anything, I’m here.”

XY was about to thank him when he spotted something out the window. He pressed his hands and face to the glass, grinning widely. “Ooh, a donut shop! Pull over!”

Luka laughed again, surprised at first, then just _real_. No autotune could match that. The sound was almost as amazing as one of those glazed donuts would taste. 

One short stop later, they were back in the junker car, rolling off with XY’s lap full of a mixed assortment of donuts. Some of them he didn’t recognize, but they looked tasty anyway.

“Save some for me, man.” Luka snagged a blueberry one without looking.

XY tried to say _“fine,”_ but through the mouthful of cream cheese donut, it just came out as a garbled mess. Oh well. Luka would get the picture when XY didn’t pound down every last donut in the box.

“And don’t get crumbs all over her,” Luka added with a frown.

XY swallowed. “Huh? Why not? This thing’s a piece of junk anyway.” He did take off his purple jacket, though. That _wasn’t_ a piece of junk, and he didn’t want crumbs on it.

“He doesn’t mean that, Gwendolyn,” Luka murmured while patting the steering wheel.

“Gwen? Isn’t that your guitar’s name?”

“No, that’s Gwynevere. Gwendolyn is the car.”

XY raised an eyebrow. “Is the real Gwen, like, an ex you never got over or something?”

Luka’s cheeks turned pink. It was a good look on him, coordinating well with his blue hair. “Gwyneth was my pet snake. All the other Gwens are named after her.”

“Oooookay.” Weird, but not his problem. He inhaled another donut.

Suddenly Luka sat up straighter, a grin on his face. “Oh, turn this up!”

XY shrugged and spun the volume knob, which almost fell off under his fingers. 

Even though the rest of the car was probably pulled straight out of the 80s, the speaker system was _killer._ The blasting music felt like it might shake the car apart. The volume knob _did_ fall off at that point, though, so XY couldn’t turn it back down.

Luka didn’t seem to care. He was busy belting out the lyrics to an almost-familiar song.

_“It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this, it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss—”_

Luka was getting into it, banging his head and flashing a “rock on” sign. _Man,_ he was cute. XY would’ve blasted the radio sooner if he’d known it would make Luka this happy.

_“Jealousy, turning snakes into the sea, swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis—”_

Luka’s eyes shut while he belted out the chorus. Probably a safety hazard, but XY was too giddy to tell him to stop.

No more worrying about Dad, or about XY’s career. Just him, Luka, and the blaring music.

The beat pulsed in him, and he joined in the second round of the chorus. 

“But I’m just a mile away! Desk or tree it’s callin’ free! Open up my beaver friiiiiiiies, ‘cause I’m Mr. Bryce Guy!”

Luka opened his eyes and burst into a cackle.

“What?” XY pouted. “That performance was lit! You should be thanking me for not charging you admission.”

Luka pounded on the steering wheel, tears leaking from his eyes. Maybe they were just tears of joy from XY being too amazing. “Of course, XY. I guess I’ll take that in exchange for all the gas money we’re going to use getting out there.”

XY still didn’t know where _out there_ was. But as long as getting there involved him and Luka laughing together, it didn’t matter.


	2. Swimming and Snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated the fic to include Maddy as a collaborator since her art is such a big part of this :D We collabed on the art for this chapter, and you can see the full post here: https://gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights.tumblr.com/post/627848546354413568/another-luxy-collab-with-bugaboo-n-bananoir-she (or wait until the end of the fic, where the image is embedded.)

XY wasn’t sure when he fell asleep. Or how. The car’s speakers were still blasting, but that was the power of a donut sugar coma, he guessed.

“So you’re not dead after all.” Luka smirked, putting the car in park and turning the key. The music went dead, jarring XY a bit more awake. “You’ve got some, uh…”

Luka wiped his thumb across his lower lip. What was he doing? Did he want XY to kiss him? No, that was probably his sleep-brain talking. 

“I can’t tell if that’s drool or donut glaze.” Luka squinted.

Oh. XY stuck out his tongue and licked his lip. “Definitely drool.”

Luka grimaced. “Good thing I didn’t act on that...”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” He popped open the car door, which screeched louder than one of his electric guitars.

“Wait, we’re here?” How long had XY been asleep? Luka might have taken him into another country by now. Europe was so _small._

Luka ended up opening XY’s door, since the passenger handle was broken from the inside. Definitely a good kidnapping car.

He stepped out into… _dirt._ Lots of dirt, and grass, and trees. He squinted up against the light slicing through the leaves.

“You’re not gonna dump my body out here, are you?”

Luka laughed, which was the point, of course. If he’d really wanted to get rid of XY, he could’ve done it a long time ago.

“Have you ever been camping before?”

XY blinked. “Camping? Like waiting overnight for a movie release? You don’t do that out in the middle of nowhere. And Trolls 3 doesn’t come out for another month.”

“You’d camp out for _Trolls—_ nevermind _._ Tonight we’re camping for real.”

XY was pretty sure that sleeping on hard sidewalks with just a twin-sized cot counted as “camping for real.” But he was too intrigued by what Luka was pulling out of his rusty trunk to argue.

“Ooh, what food did you pack?” He peered over Luka’s shoulder at the cooler. A picnic sounded _extra_ romantic, even if XY still wasn’t sure about all this forest stuff.

“Just some hot dogs and stuff for s’mores. You like hot dogs, right?”

XY grinned and nodded. Hot dogs were up there with mac n’ cheese as one of life’s finest foods. He’d never made s’mores before, at least not outside of a microwave. Was Luka going to pull a microwave out of his trunk, too? There was a plug sticking out of the wide dirt patch where they’d pulled up, so they weren’t _completely_ in the middle of nowhere.

There were a few other dirt patches scattered around too. Most of them were empty, but a few had tents set up in them. Maybe Luka was going to surprise him with an early showing of Trolls 3 after all. Why else would so many people come out to sleep in the dirt?

“Here.” Luka dropped a heavy bundle into XY’s arms. “That’s the tent. I’m guessing you don’t know how to set it up, so just set it somewhere in the middle for now.”

XY did as instructed, mostly because the tent was heavy and he didn’t want to hold it any longer than he had to. Luka joined him with the cooler and a couple foldable chairs.

“You really planned this out, huh?” XY realized. 

Luka shrugged. “It was nothing.”

It was probably just XY’s hopeful imagination, but Luka’s face looked a little pink. It looked good with his pale lip gloss.

Clearing his throat, Luka said, “Come on. I hope you packed your swim trunks.”

XXX

Apparently Luka’s idea of a good time was swimming in a grimy creek instead of a nice, chlorinated swimming pool. Okay, so the creek wasn’t _that_ grimy—he could see through to the plants waving at the bottom—but it still wasn’t anything like a pool or even the beach. 

For one thing, it was _friggin cold._

“Come on, XY!” Luka called from where he stood waist-deep in the clear water, his chest gleaming white in the sun. That sight alone was almost enough to pull XY in, until he stuck his toes in the freezing mud and jerked them back out.

“No way, man. You’re trying to turn me into a popsicle!”

Luka rolled his eyes, but waded closer to the bank. 

“You just have to get used to it. It’s not so bad once you get in.”

XY crossed his arms. “You know what else isn’t bad? Standing right here. In the sun. Where it’s _warm.”_

Luka hopped up to sit on a rock poking out near the edge of the creek. “If you’d come in, you could sit on this nice warm rock. I bet it’s nicer than standing in the mud.”

XY frowned down at his toes. Brown goop squelched out between them, even though he wasn’t even in the water. 

He sighed deeply. _“Fine._ But you better be ready to snuggle if I’m still cold.”

Luka actually cackled at that, nearly falling off his rock. Well XY would see if he was still laughing when he wiped his muddy toes all over him. That would teach him to drag XY out here just to get a glimpse of him shirtless.

He yelped as he stumbled through the shallow water. “Cold, cold, _cold!_ What the heck, man!”

Luka was still laughing. “Just get up here.”

He hauled XY up next to him on the rock. Sure enough, the rock was warm, burning his butt through his swim trunks. That didn’t stop him from pressing close to Luka though. Luka’s arm wrapped around his back, leaving goosebumps.

“Jeez, you’re _that_ cold?”

“Uh—y-yeah.” He coughed. Hopefully his shaking voice would pass as a shiver. Apparently it did, because Luka held him tighter, both arms wrapping him in a hug, their legs pressed flush at the sides.

“Sorry. I guess I should’ve listened to you,” Luka murmured. Geez, his voice even sounded sexy when he was apologizing.

“N-no man, it’s cool!”

“I just wanted to share something I used to do for fun with you. But I should’ve asked what you wanted to do.”

XY was pretty sure there was nothing he wanted more than to sit here in Luka’s arms.

“Wh-what do you mean, did you used to come out here a lot? Didn’t take you for the woodsy type.”

When Luka shrugged, his bare arms left even more goosebumps on XY’s. “Before Mom bought the Liberty, we used to live in an old RV. The Freedom.”

“You guys don’t have very creative names, do you?”

Luka snorted. “Says the one who titled his last album _Sick Beats.”_

“It’s a great name! Says exactly what it’s supposed to.”

Luka laughed at that. “Anyway, the Freedom. We parked her out here pretty often in between Mom’s guitar gigs, especially after she and my dad… well I don’t remember all that.” He gave a sad little smile. Huh. Luka had never mentioned his dad before, just like XY had never mentioned Mom.

“But this place was kind of an escape, you know?” Luka continued. “Me and Juleka found this creek together and practically drowned learning to swim. We caught Gwyneth—the snake, not the car—here too.”

XY stared, jaw hanging open. “You _caught_ your pet snake?”

“Yeah. Well, I guess Mom did, technically.”

XY shook his head. “It’s a good thing you guys already beat Hawksloth. If he heard you tell stories like that, he’d know you were the snake hero for sure.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not related. But even if it was, _you’re_ the one with the snake on your butt.”

XY flushed about as red as he had when Luka had first noticed the tattoo peeking over the edge of his trunks.

“Can’t we just forget about that?”

“Nope.” Luka popped the _p._ “You lost that privilege the second you took off your shirt.”

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. XY had told him (truthfully) that he’d gotten the tattoo _before_ learning that Luka was Viperion, but it didn’t matter. 

“You know, I figured you’d have an embarrassing tattoo or two,” XY muttered, raking his eyes down Luka’s flawless chest again. “You’ve got the earrings and nail polish. Why didn’t you complete the look?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I never found a design I knew I’d want permanently. Maybe I will eventually.”

Luka with an XY tattoo was a complete fantasy, but that didn’t stop XY from indulging himself. 

He was still picturing where that tattoo could go when his gaze wandered down to the snake slithering up the length of the rock. He screamed and jumped into Luka’s lap, nearly tumbling them both into the creek.

“Dude, what the heck!” Luka spat out strands of XY’s ponytail and tried to look over his shoulder.

“Snake! Real, bitey snake!”

“Bitey—? Aww, it’s just a little thing.” Luka’s voice turned sweet. “Come here, little guy.”

XY didn’t _care_ if it was a _little guy,_ or how often Luka had caught snakes here before, Luka should not be pss-pss-ing at a _friggin snake_ in the middle of the creek!

“No, don’t come here! Go—I don’t know, bite my dad or something!”

Luka’s laugh, of all things, finally scared off the snake. It went slithering away like a little brown ribbon, only much scarier. Scary brown ribbon. 

“You really don’t like snakes, do you.”

XY still huddled in Luka’s lap. Well, Luka wouldn’t shove him off after he’d just been terrified like that, right? He was too nice. And very comfy to sit on.

“Why did you like ‘Viperion’ so much if you hate snakes?”

“It’s not like he was a _real_ snake. He had legs. And abs. Really hot abs.”

Luka flushed. “You, uh—you think my abs are hot?”

XY looked down at the abs in question. “Could use some more sun when you’re not suited up. And maybe a tattoo. But yeah.”

Still red, Luka shook his head.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

“No, I do. I just think it’s funny that you were embarrassed about your tattoo, but you have no problem saying _that.”_

“Why should I? I’m pretty sure _anyone_ would say Viperion’s abs are hot.”

“I’ve heard you talk about Carapace’s abs too, but I don’t see you with a turtle tramp stamp.”

“Okay, fine.” XY crossed his arms. “You want to know why I really liked Viperion?”

Luka’s arms tightened around him. “That _is_ what I asked in the first place.”

“Yeah, whatever.” XY told himself he had no reason to be embarrassed, but it was still hard to bare his heart in front of Luka. What if he thought XY was a sappy loser? Nah, this was the guy who played in a band that wrote songs about unicorns. 

“I guess it’s just… Viperion’s power is Second Chance, y’know?”

“Considering _I’m_ Viperion, yeah.”

“I _know_. It’s just—it’s easier to talk about this if I act like you’re not Viperion for a second.”

Luka blinked. “Alright. Sorry for interrupting.”

“Anyway, I just like the idea of having a second chance. That’s it. It’s not that deep.”

It was deep enough. Deep as the water surrounding their rock, deep as the blue eyes that cut through him.

“You do have a second chance. You know that, right?”

XY swallowed. “Yeah. Yeah, I… thanks.”

Sitting here in the middle of nowhere with Luka, it didn’t matter who he was, or who he’d been. It didn’t matter that his dad hated him or that his career was probably over.

He was with the one person who cared about him, and that was enough.


	3. S'mores and Smooches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo this fic is done!! Please appreciate Maddy's amazing art for this chapter: https://bugaboo-n-bananoir.tumblr.com/post/639420760537120768/some-campfire-luxy-for

“Let me get this straight. You took us out in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t even know how to set up a _tent_?”

“I thought it would be easier than this,” Luka huffed. Thin poles and tarp-like material surrounded him in a lumpy pile. He ran his hand through his hair, which had dried about halfway since their dip in the creek. This disheveled look was good on him. 

(Of course, _every_ look was good on him.)

XY made a vague attempt to stick a pole into the ground. It flopped over pitifully, and he scowled.

“Stupid pole.”

“I’m pretty sure you put the poles through the tent first.”

“How would you know? You never set up a tent.”

Luka rubbed the back of his neck. “We always slept in the RV.”

“Wish you would’ve bought one of _those…”_ XY muttered. He crossed his legs, plopping down on top of the tent material. He wasn’t going to sit his butt in the _dirt,_ thank you.

“Kitty Section might be doing well, but not _that_ well.” Luka snorted. He finally set down the pole and tent loop he was fiddling with. “This isn’t going to work.”

“You think we should ask for help?” XY jerked a thumb towards the nearest occupied campsite, where a little girl was helping her dad raise a giant tent. She couldn’t have been more than half XY’s height, but she looked like a pro. Maybe that was what happened when you had a dad that actually bothered to teach you stuff.

“Probably for the best.” Luka sighed, dusting off his hands on his jeans. “Unless you want to sleep out under the stars.”

Sleep under the stars? That sounded pretty dang romantic.

“I’ve never seen the stars before.” XY grinned. After a moment of surprise, Luka smiled back.

“Alright then. Let’s get the fire started instead. That’s something I _do_ know how to do.”

XXX

As it turned out, Luka’s idea of starting a fire involved grabbing a few logs, dousing them in gasoline, and dropping a match on them. 

The fireball that roared up sent XY shrieking and practically jumping into Luka’s arms. Luka laughed, and the fire calmed down a bit, leaving XY standing there hugging himself like an idiot.

“You could’ve told me you were going to do that.” He pouted.

“Wouldn’t have been as fun. And I did tell you to stand back.”

Luka grabbed a metal stick and tossed it to him. XY nearly fumbled it, but managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

“What are we gonna do? Swordfight?” XY swung his stick in the air, nearly managing to knock their food off the picnic table.

“Nope. Even better.” Luka skewered a hot dog from the cooler and held it over the fire. 

Of course, XY knew that was what the sticks were for. But they were still fun to swing around too. He followed Luka’s example and stabbed his own hot dog.

“Y’know, this isn’t so bad,” he said as he sat down in the camp chair next to Luka. “I thought there’d be more gross bugs and stuff out here.”

“I think your cologne scared them all off.”

“Really?” XY sniffed his damp ponytail. Sure enough, his cologne had overpowered the smell of mud from earlier. “Huh. Smells good _and_ works as bug spray. Awesome.”

Luka chuckled at that. “I’m glad you’re having a good time. I was a little worried you wouldn’t.”

“Pshaw, I _always_ have a cash money time with you, Lu.” XY scooted his chair closer so he could bump Luka with his shoulder.

“Heh. You’re sweet, XY. I couldn’t ask for a more sincere melody.”

“...But I didn’t even sing anything?”

“It’s a—nevermind.” Luka shook his head and turned his stick over, roasting the top of his hot dog.

While XY had been distracted, his own hot dog had gotten charred in the center of the fire. Oops. He pulled it out and blew on it, but the crunchy black coating stuck fast. Maybe it was supposed to look like that?

Shrugging, XY held up the stick and took a bite.

“Ah! Hot!” He spat it back into the fire.

“What did you think was going to happen?” Luka laughed.

XY pouted at him. “I take it back. I’m not having a cash money time. You’re mean to me.”

“Would a Capri Sun change your mind?” He smirked while propping his hot dog stick so it wouldn’t fall on the ground.

“Ooh! Grab me a Fruit Punch one!”

Luka tossed the pouch to him from the cooler. XY guessed he could forgive him for laughing on account of Luka remembering his favorite drinks.

By the time XY’s first hot dog cooled, Luka had two more doctored up with ketchup, mustard, and relish.

“That’s how you do it in the States, right?” he asked.

A grin spread across XY’s face. Luka had looked up how to fix hot dogs just for him? That was practically a declaration of love, right?

“It’s _perfect.”_ XY ate one in three bites and let out a loud burp. “Thanks, Lu.”

After finishing off the hot dogs, Luka stabbed a few marshmallows with their sticks.

“Here. This should be easier not to burn… hopefully,” he finished under his breath.

“Uh. I’m not so sure about that, bro.” XY’s marshmallow was already on fire. He knew better than to stick it in his mouth, but he did have to bring it close to blow it out. It might’ve been more spit than air that put out the marshmallow, but either way, it was barely crisped by the time the fire was gone.

“You’ve got to stop sticking everything right in the middle of the fire.” Luka held his a good foot above the flickering flames.

“Gross. Now yours is gonna taste like smoke.”

“And yours won’t? It was _literally on fire.”_

“Exactly! Just the way I like it.” Hopefully. He’d never actually had a campfire-roasted marshmallow. 

He slapped it between two pieces of chocolate—graham crackers were for losers—and took a bite.

Squishy. That was his first impression. Squishy _and_ crunchy. Well, Luka was always saying good music was about contrast. That had to be the same for deserts, right? 

“How is it?” Luka asked as he removed his own golden-brown marshmallow.

“‘S pre’y goo’,” he answered before swallowing. It had plenty of sugar, and that was all that really mattered.

“...As long as you like it, I guess.”

Once they were done experimenting with s’mores, they lounged on top of their sleeping bags around the dying fire, waiting for the stars to come out. The sun still sat on the horizon like it didn’t want to miss the stars either.

“What else did you do when you went camping?” XY asked. Sitting here with Luka was great, but if he didn’t distract himself somehow, he might end up in Luka’s lap again. It would be harder to find an excuse for that when they were basking in a warm fire instead of freezing water.

“Lots of things. Catching bugs, playing campfire songs, telling ghost stories…”

“Ghost stories?” XY sat up straighter, pulling his sleeping bag up to his chest. “Like, _real_ ghosts? Or like, that Phantom cartoon with the Box Ghost and stuff?” Actually, that cartoon had been kind of scary too. There was a ghost that played rock music, and XY had always been just a little bit nervous she’d come out and fight him for getting too popular.

“Uhh… I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you can decide if they’re real or not.” Luka’s smile looked sinister in the flickering orange light.

XY swallowed. _Luka_ wasn’t a ghost, was he? He _had_ been really pale when they went swimming earlier…

“Do you want to hear one?” Luka asked while leaning in closer.

Since XY was not a coward, he nodded.

“Alright.” Luka picked up his guitar from next to him and started strumming a few minor arpeggios. “This one is called _Scrimmy Bingus and the Crungy Spingus.”_

XY squeaked at the name. What the heck was a _bingus?_ The ghost of dead internet search engines?

“It starts out with two guys who were camping out for _Trolls 2…”_

__

XXX

_“Eep!_ The bingus is inside me!” XY squealed, throwing himself into Luka’s lap.

“Wha—that wasn’t even supposed to be scary!” He laughed. He set his guitar aside to better adjust XY in his lap. “It’s not real, XY. I was just making a dumb joke.”

“It’s—it’s not?” He looked up into Luka’s eyes, which still reflected the soft embers. “So there’s no bingus waiting to possess the souls of hot musicians?”

“No, there’s no bingus.” Luka wrapped his arms around XY anyway. His solid, definitely-not-ghostly presence was comforting. No scrimmy bingus could get XY while he was securely in Luka’s embrace.

“Oh. Haha, right. I knew that.”

“Of course you did.” Luka smiled.

Oh man. That _smile._ Even when Luka was probably making fun of him, it still made his insides all gooey. Like mac ’n’ cheese.

XY was so busy staring at it that he forgot he no longer had a good excuse to be sitting in Luka’s lap.

Then again, Luka hadn’t come up with a good excuse for letting him.

“Feeling better?” Luka asked quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Pshaw, I wasn’t _scared.”_ He crossed his arms.

Luka raised an eyebrow.

“I wasn’t! I just… really wanted to sit in your lap?”

No, bad XY! He was supposed to use being scared as the excuse for sitting in Luka’s lap, not the other way around! Now Luka knew his secret and he’d never get any kind of cuddles, including lap cuddles—

“You could’ve just asked, you know,” Luka said.

XY blinked. Luka’s eyes were soft as the fresh starlight, looking down at XY like he was something precious. Like his forty-seventh Jagged Stone guitar pick, or something.

“You don’t mind?”

Luka shook his head with a laugh.

“XY, I’ve been trying to hit on you all day. Of course I don’t mind.”

“You’ve been— _what?”_ He sat up straighter, squishing Luka’s leg.“No way! I would’ve noticed!”

“I guess I could’ve been more obvious. I didn’t want to come on too strong, in case you were still torn up about your dad. I didn’t want to seem like I was taking advantage of you feeling down.”

XY had hardly thought about his dad or his career all day. Luka had thoroughly distracted him, whether on purpose or not. 

This was still so bizarre that XY could hardly believe it. Luka had confessed to _him!_

“I can’t believe _you_ were worried about coming on too strong. I’m the one with the Viperion tramp stamp!”

“Which you got before you knew Viperion was me!” Luka flushed in the firelight.

XY nearly fell out of his lap cackling. “I always had a crush on both of you, y’know. When you revealed yourself I had a heart attack. Only you could be _two_ hot dudes in one package.”

“Shut up.” Luka dropped his head onto XY’s shoulder. “You don’t know what saying stuff like that does to me.”

“Come on, you’re sexy, you’re talented, you cook a sick hot dog. At least let me be better at giving compliments.”

No matter how famous XY had been, he’d never felt like he deserved Luka. He didn’t even feel like he did now, when Luka was practically admitting to crushing on him. XY was really going to have to step it up if Luka would let him be his boyfriend.

His _boyfriend!_ Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. They hadn’t even kissed yet.

“I just don’t know how to handle it,” Luka admitted, sitting upright again and looking away. “Even when I dated Marinette for a while, I always knew she liked Adrien better than me. I just… I’ve never thought anyone could really say stuff like you do about me.”

Huh. XY never would’ve pegged Luka for the self-conscious type. It was kind of adorable.

“Don’t worry, Lu. By the time I’m through with you, you’ll have an ego as big as mine.” He flashed a grin.

“I’d better not. I don’t think the world could fit two egos your size.”

“Good looking _and_ hilarious. You really are the whole package.” XY swooned. 

Luka caught him by the shoulders before he could completely fall out of his lap.

“So… I guess that means you’ll be my boyfriend, then?”

XY nearly squeaked in glee. “That would be a dream come true, dude. Babe? Bro? Sexy? What do you want to be called, boyfriend?”

Luka choked. “Uh, Lu is fine. Or… um, babe, I guess.”

“Lit! There’s only one thing left to do, then.” XY cradled Luka’s face. “Can I kiss you, babe?”

Luka looked frozen solid. Oh no. Maybe XY had come on too strong after all.

“Lu?” XY tilted Luka’s head back and forth. “You okay in there? We don’t technically _have_ to kiss, I guess, even if I’ve been dreaming about it for months—”

“We can kiss,” Luka choked out, his face nearly as red as the leftover flames. “I would—I’d like that a lot.”

They both went in at the same time, and ended up bumping noses instead of lips. Dang. This whole kissing thing was harder than it looked.

Luka laughed, and XY’s heart fluttered. “You go left, I’ll go right.”

“Wait, your left or my left?”

“My left.”

XY looked up thoughtfully. “So if your left is my right, then—”

“Nevermind. Just follow me,” Luka huffed before grabbing XY’s face in both hands.

Luka’s lips slammed into his.

XY could’ve died and gone to heaven. Luka was already good at everything; it shouldn’t have surprised him that he was a good kisser, too.

They fell backward on the sleeping bag, Luka landing roughly on top of XY.

“Sorry—” he got out before XY grabbed the collar of his tank top and started kissing him again. His lips tasted like peaches and hot dog, which should’ve been a weird combination, but XY would forever associate the two foods together now.

Luka’s hands tangled in XY’s ponytail, undoing the band so his hair spilled out around his shoulders. And then he was combing through it while kissing and _man_ XY would sleep in the dirt forever if meant he got kisses like this.

Finally Luka pushed himself up on his palms, separating their bodies. XY had half a mind to pull him back down, but Luka pressed a finger to his lips.

“That was my first kiss,” he said in between gasps. “Let a guy catch his breath.”

“Fiiine.” XY pouted. It was his first kiss too, but he was more than ready to get to his second, and third, and fourth kisses.

“Was it… was it good?” Luka asked nervously.

_“Good?”_ XY gaped. “Lu, you could ask me to do anything for you after a kiss like that.”

“...Would you help me catch a new Gwyneth?”

XY blinked. Gwyneth like Luka’s snake? Or Gwyneth like his guitar? It was hard for him to keep straight.

“Uh… maybe,” he answered, just to be safe. He might be head-over-heels for Luka, but if he got bit by a poisonous snake, he could kiss his romantic ever-after goodbye.

Luka seemed satisfied enough with that answer. He rolled off of XY, landing on the sleeping bag next to him.

“Does that mean you’re done kissing me?” XY frowned.

“Just for now. I thought you wanted to see the stars.”

He was already seeing stars from Luka’s dizzying kiss, but XY guessed that wasn’t what he meant. The sun had finally dipped below the trees, letting the real stars peek out.

“Woah,” XY breathed. 

He’d never seen the night sky so bright from anything besides light pollution. The breeze ruffled his hair, blowing strands into Luka’s face. He spat them back out.

“You like it?” Luka asked quietly.

It was nothing like the light shows at one of XY’s concerts. These lights were too still, and too silent. It wasn’t something XY expected Luka to appreciate, but it was surprisingly nice to lie here with Luka—with hi _s boyfriend—_ with no music except the beat of their hearts.

“Yeah,” XY murmured. “Thank you, Lu. For everything.”

Luka laced their fingers together and squeezed his hand. 

“You’re welcome, XY.”


End file.
